Shrunken Elf Heads
by Lili Pie
Summary: Ginny and Draco get partnered up in the new class Interesting Inventions: A Hands-On Experiment. So, what's up with their teacher? And what are shrunken elf heads?
1. Brain Washing?

**Shrunken Elf Heads**

**A/N**-Snow days!  My very favorite day of school-that is, when we don't have it.  The only thing is, when I'm online at nine in the morning, everyone else is asleep.  Which is why they should put on TV that school is cancelled _before we go to sleep, instead of having us get up, get ready, let the dog out and see that there is like a foot of snow outside.  Stupid, idiotic,…*continues muttering under her breath*_

**Disclaimer**- I do not own Harry Potter and Co., nor did I ever claim to own them (okay, maybe once or twice… but my little dog figurines reminded me that I don't).  If you still don't realize that no one on this site owns the characters, you're pretty darn stupid.

"There is no right and wrong.  Only what you accept and what you refuse to." Lucius coached Draco.  Draco nodded.  Of course there was no right or wrong!  Who would ever come up with such foolish ideas?  

"Power is what separates us from those Mudbloods.  We have the power!" Lucius chanted.  Draco accepted his father's words without a doubt.  Why would his father lie to him?  Draco was his son, not some kid he picked up on the street!  The Dark Lord knew the way of the world.  He knew how the world worked.  If there were such things as right and wrong, how could people say hurtful things?  

_Most people are hypocrites_. Draco reasoned.   Not, of course, the Dark Lord and his followers, but all those who professed themselves to be on the "Light Side".  They could not say that they were right when they themselves did unimaginable things.  But, your own mess is always much more excusable than your neighbor's.

"The "morals" that the Mudbloods and the Dark Lord's enemies profess to have do not exist.  If there are any morals, they are on the side of Lord Voldemort!"

Of course they were!  The Dark Lord knew what he wanted, and, although he used what the Light would call "morally unacceptable" methods, he at least he could accomplish it.  The Light had no purpose but to counter whatever the Dark Lord flung at their feet.  They believed themselves to be right, but how could they think they were when the Dark Lord won three out of every four battles?  If their God believed them to be right, by their beliefs He should be helping them win.  But He wasn't.  Why?    

Lucius smiled.  He saw that his son was accepting whatever he said.  What good it was to be such an influential figure in his son's life!  He could brainwash him and no one would be any the wiser.  No one would ever believe that Draco Malfoy didn't agree exactly with what his father believed and had to be brainwashed on a regular basis, and so Lucius' tracks were covered.  Of course, instead of this kind of brainwashing, he could just use the Imperious* curse to control Draco, but that was such a waste of magic. Besides, this method was so much more fun.

Muggles were good for _something_.

Now all he had to do was to convince the Minister of that.  Oh, even though he had had stints in Azkaban, that fool Fudge still believed him to be trustworthy.  On second thought, Fudge didn't really trust him.  He just wanted the power that Lucius could provide.  And make no mistake, even without Voldemort Lucius was a very powerful man.  Not just because of the money that he possessed, but because he was a true Slytherin.  He was everything a good Slytherin was expected to be.  And Fudge knew that.  Although he put on the face that he was concerned about Voldemort taking over, what he really cared about was losing power.  Why else would he ignore Dumbledore's warnings?

Lucius smiled.  After he was finished with Draco, he would go have a chat with Fudge.

**************

"Of course there is a right and wrong!  Who says that all there is is what you accept and refuse to?"  Arthur Weasley stated as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.  Ginny nodded.  Of course there was such a thing as right and wrong!  Who would think that there weren't?

If the conversations between Draco and his father and Ginny and her father sound similar, they are.  And yet they aren't.  Because, unlike Draco, Ginny needed no brainwashing.  She completely believed in the side of the Light and knew that God was just making them pay for not believing that that devil Voldemort, was back when he really was.  

It was all that stupid Fudge's fault.  Even now no one was really sure where his loyalties were.  It _seemed as though he were on Dumbledore's side, but appearances were deceiving.  The Light's spies saw that he had many meetings with one Lucius Malfoy, Lord Voldemort's almost right-hand man.  And if he was meeting with Lucius, there was no telling what he was up to._

"But, Dad, what about the people on You-Know-Who's side?" Ginny asked, quite confused.  If everyone knew what morals were, why were there those who could kill and not feel regret?

"I don't know what satisfaction they get from it, Ginny." Arthur answered.  Really, though, this girl had more questions than any moral issue brought up!

"Why can't we figure out some way to tell what is right and wrong?" She asked.  Arthur was becoming impatient.

"Because what one person views as right is different than what other people do!  There are varying shades of gray, and…"

"Then how can you say that there is such a thing as good?" Ginny wondered out loud.  This was a bad choice of words.  Arthur glared at her.

"I _can_ say it because _there is_ right and wrong.  Understand?" He ground out, his teeth clenched tightly together.  This girl was getting on his nerves!  So many questions!  Ron and the other boys never asked, they just accepted.  The facts were the facts.

That's it.

"I'm going to find out a way to tell what's good and what's not." Ginny declared suddenly.  Arthur looked at her, shocked.

"How?" He asked, genuinely curious.  She shrugged.

"I don't know.  I'll figure something out."  Ginny said confidently.

And Arthur believed her, because that was the kind of person Ginny was.

*********

**A/N**-Short chapter I know, but I couldn't decide what I wanted to put in this chapter, so I decided to just wait until the next chapter to cram in more junk.  Sound good?  And, hey, I want to know what you think.  Even if you don't like it…

What is going to happen next chapter, you ask?

Well, the "kids" are going back to Hogwarts.  Both Draco and Ginny take the new elective "Interesting Inventions: A Hands-On Experiment" in which each student partners up with another (teacher assigns them) and they have to make up a device.  What they make up… well, who knows?  Me, of course!  Oh, wait…I don't… yet I do…

*shakes her head* confusing!

Well, thanks for reading and have fun reviewing.  *shakes her fist* And you better review or I'll go back to pondering the meaning of life!

~*Lili*~ 


	2. First Day of Class

**A/N**-  My question for you:  is there really a difference between quiet and silence?

And, because I hate semester tests and do not want to use up a whole page of venting about them, I will stop my author's note here.

**************************

And, in light of semester tests finally being over (I had to study for them over Christmas break and the week after), I have a quote from studying for my band semester test (why in the world do we have a vocab test for band?).

_"Think of it as peasants walking through the village and they're…" *various hand motions* _

_Of course, I'm not paying attention, and it sounds to me as if she's saying,_

_"Think of it as peasants walking through the village peeing."_

And another one, from our biology tests.  I swear to God it was on there, too.

"_This guy invented 'squares' used to torment, frustrate, and confuse high school biology students. A) Mr. Punnet  B) Mr. Watson  C) Mr. Boignt. _"  (the answer, of course… Mr. Punnet) 

***************************

Ginny reached the room that the Hogwarts staff had recently discovered.  Once they had discovered it, of course, they wanted to use it.  And so, they ("they" being Dumbledore) had decided to petition the new DADA and Potions aide to teach the new class Interesting Inventions.

No one had really known the goal of the class when they signed up, because the summary of the class hadn't been decided upon by the time class lists came out.  So, many people signed up, thinking it would be a slacker course.

Poor, poor people with such bad judgment!

Of course, some people (like Ginny) had signed up to actually work in the course.  Now, by no means was Ginny a "model student", because, of course, she was friends with Harry Potter, but she had thought the name of the class sounded interesting.

And then there was Draco Malfoy, who fit into neither of the two categories mentioned.  He was in the class because, after finding out what the class was about, his father ordered him to attend.  To see the things invented that could help Voldemort's cause, and to see the inventions that might hurt it, and to destroy them before they could be used. 

Draco eyed Ginny who was sitting across the room.  What was she doing here?  He narrowed his eyes and glared at her when she looked at him.  This typical greeting was ended when Professor Grandorff walked in the room.

"Welcome, welcome!"  the Professor began.  "I'm glad that you have decided to take Interesting Inventions.  No, we won't be working with Muggle inventions.  There have been plenty of Wizarding inventions over the years.  And even those we'll just be studying their backgrounds and basic uses.  No, Mr. Longbottom, we are _not_ dealing with Potions.  And not Divination, Miss Brown." After this was proclaimed, Neville looked relieved and Lavender looked disappointed. "Mr. Malfoy!  I really _must_ insist that you contain your smugness!  Miss Weasley, please be quiet!"  The class ignored her and continued on with their conversations.

"That is it!  Seating arrangement!" 

The class shut up faster than you could say "seat".  Professor Grandorff's lips curled into a smile.  

"You will be sitting by your class partners." She informed them.  A sigh of relief swept through the assembled students.  Her smile became wicked.

"_Assigned_ partners, mind you." A groan went through the class.

Professor Grandorff began reading a list of names that began with "Longbottom and Zambini."   As she continued checking through the names, her smile became more of a sneer.  Ginny began to wonder what was up this Professor's sleeve.  _Well_, she thought,_ as long as I'm not with Malfoy, or one of those Slytherins_- who were, by the way, rapidly disappearing to be partnered with various Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws- _I'll be fine._

"Malfoy, and…" the Professor's eyes searched the room. "Miss Patil."

_Thank God._ Ginny thought.  She allowed a sigh to escape her lips.  All the Slytherins were now taken, and only Ravenclaws remained.  Professor Grandorff allowed the sigh to escape her notice.  She finished the list.  Looking around the room, she noticed one problem.

"Miss Weasley," she stated quietly, "you seem to be without a partner."

"That's fine, Professor." Ginny began.  "I'll work by myself."

"No, no.  That is unfair.  Why don't we…"

She looked around the room.  Picking one of the Ravenclaw groups that looked like it would need another member (oh how I love making fun of stereotypes… the ever-smart Ravenclaws needing help… hah!) she assigned Ginny to their group.

"Miss Weasley, join Miss Hunter and Mr. Revan until we can figure out something else."

"Yes, Professor Grandorff." Ginny said.  She had been afraid that the Professor would try to partner her with Malfoy or something like that.

A knock sounded at the door.  Professor Grandorff answered it, muttering something darkly about interruptions.  When she stepped out of the room to converse with the visitor and the class erupted into a burst of noise.

"The _nerve_ of the woman, to place me with a stinking Slytherin!" many Gryffindors were complaining.  Other comments like this were heard throughout the room.

Through the chaos, Draco watched Ginny.  _She_ would be the threat, he was sure.  Anything she invented would go straight to Potter, and from there, Dumbledore, the meddling old fool.

Professor Grandorff stepped back into the room.

"Apparently Professor Snape needs me to step in for his Potions class for the hour.    You are excused.  Do not expect this again.  Class dismissed."

With a yelp of joy, the class emptied out of the room.  Ginny spent her time gathering her things, noticing that Draco was walking toward the Professor.  _What can he be doing?_ she wondered.  _And is the Professor in with Voldemort, too?_

When Draco reached the Professor, he said quietly,

"I think you have made a mistake with Weasley's placement."

The Professor looked up, startled.  This was that horrid son-of-a-Malfoy talking to her.

She glanced at Ginny.  It looked as though Ginny was still gathering her things.

"Do you?" she ventured.

"Yes.  I believe that Severus will explain things to you.  I believe you have a meeting tonight?"  Draco said.

"Yes.  At ten.  In his office."  She looked toward Ginny, who was still gathering her things.  "For Merlin's sake, Miss Weasley, enough dawdling!  Get out!"  

Ginny decided that she had "overstayed her welcome".  She quickly threw her book bag over her shoulder and walked out of the room.  She could feel two pairs of eyes on her as she walked out of the room.

"Now, Mr. Malfoy… about this meeting…"   She said.  Oh, how she detested the boy!  

"Continue." Draco ordered.

"It will be in Professor Snape's office, around ten.  I believe we will be discussing Potions and Defense lessons.  If there were an opportune time for you to stop by, I believe it would be around ten thirty."

"Of course, Professor." Draco said innocently.  "Don't you have a class?"

"I do, once you leave my room."  She snapped angrily.  He smirked but thought to himself, _We__ really need to do something about this woman.  I wonder if old Voldie knows that her loyalties aren't with him?  To her, he said,_

"Ten thirty, then?"

"Isn't that what I said?" she snapped.  The boy was giving her a headache, and she'd need a potion for that before she went to the Potions class.

"Ten thirty it is."

****************************

Good news.  Semester tests are over.  That means that I can not have tests!  Yay!  The only good thing about semester tests:  open campus.  That means we get to leave when we don't have a test.  Unfortunately I don't have a study hall… only lunch.  But I did get to sleep in, because I have lunch 5th hour and the classes were split over two days:  1-4 hours on the first day, 5-8th on the second.  And we got out early.  The only problem:  *clears her throat*… perhaps you didn't read the second sentence?  _Semester tests.  _

I'm done… I promised myself I would complain no more than that.

Thanks for reading… love ya!

~Lili


End file.
